Sunspots-Solar+Storms

What is a sunspot? A sunspot is a phenomena on the Sun. It lies on the photospere of then Sun and is noticably darker compared to the area around it. The main that these sunsports appear are because they are caused by extreme magnetic activity.

How do the [|sunspots effect] us on Earth? On Earth the sunspots effect us in a few different ways. With these sunspots comes an increase in UV rays. This affects the chemistry of the outer most atmosphere. In addition these sunspots affect the Earth and its energy balance. It is not 100% if this affects our climate but it is supposed to have an affect on the light distributed to us along with energy. As time goes on this can cause colder weather farther away from the equator.

What are [|solar storms]? Solar storms are charged particles that sometimes slam into the Earth's magnetic field. From this there is a possibility of a light show in the sky. This "light show" is actually the solar storm. The longest time a solar storm can last is a few days.

How do solar storms affect the [|climate?] Surprisingly theses [|solar storms] do not affect the climate, just the way we live our lives. In our modern day we rely on technology quite a bit and these storms and interfere with radio signals.

What surprised me? What I was not expecting to learn that these solar storms do not effect our climate as much as it effects our modern life and technology more. With the interference of the radio waves, it effects the different connections what we get.



http://solarscience.msfc.nasa.gov/SunspotCycle.shtml

http://spaceweather.com/

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2003/23oct_superstorm/

   